Have you been thinking about marketing on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram, or are you already doing so? These are all great ways to reach customers in different age groups, but if there’s one platform you should definitely add into the mix, it’s Twitter. Twitter has been and continues to be one of the leading social media platforms for businesses, including insurance agents: after all, there are roughly 187 million users on Twitter, and reaching them could mean a major boost for your business! And while Twitter seems simple, since you’re limited to just a short 280 characters, you do have to know where to get started, and how to create or share a relatable tweet that grabs attention.
First Things First..
When you open up a Twitter account, you will have to post a picture of yourself, or the logo of your company, as well as create your Twitter handle, or username. Choose wisely here: you want your Twitter handle to be professional and easy to remember, as well as able to make your business easier to find.
When you’re ready to start tweeting, remember that the key to selling your business and services is to actually start by selling yourself and your personality, NOT by trying to make sales through your Twitter account. Nobody likes being aggressively sold to when they’re spending time on social media; they want relatable information that will help them, or just make them laugh, so start with some lighthearted tweets. As you get more customers following you, answer questions that you get from them, followed by a link to your website or blog
Different types of things you can tweet include:
- Shared Content Tweet
- Shared Content with Commentary Tweet
- Retweet with Commentary
- Problem & Solution Tweet
- Stat or Fact Tweet
- Photo Tweet
Follow Relevant Accounts
In order to be successful on Twitter, you have to engage with other users, and that includes following accounts that are relevant to your business: when you follow people, generally they follow you back. You should seek out and follow insurance influencers, news publications, businesses, and other agents – just be careful not to overdo it and follow a huge number of accounts just to get followers in return! This is a red flag that will violate Twitter’s guidelines, which will land you with a suspended account.
Keep It At A Minimum
In 2017, Twitter doubled the characters you can use from 140 to 280, but did you know that the most common length for a tweet is just 33 characters? That being said, research shows that tweets that have between 71 and 100 characters get the most retweets, and tweets that are shorter than 100 characters also get 17% higher engagement than those that are longer than 100 characters. In other words, just because you have 280 characters to use, that doesn’t mean you should constantly be hitting your limit.
Follow The Trend!
The next step is to get into what’s trending on Twitter and to capitalize on it by adding trending hashtags to your tweets, which can get you more exposure for your profile. To find trending topics, you can browse from your dashboard, or use a free tool to help you, such as Hashtagify.
Use Hashtags #
As mentioned above, to get in on trending topics, you should be using hashtags, which help to group and categorize tweets, and make it easier for people to search for information. Why use hashtags? Well, tweets that include them receive 2 times more engagement than those without them – but it’s important to know how many to use. Nothing is more annoying than seeing 15 hashtags under a picture or other content, and studies show that tweets with 1 or 2 hashtags have a 21% higher engagement rate than those with 3 or more.
Do Your Homework
Twitter is often used to see what’s happening in the world, so it’s the perfect platform for you to share relevant insurance news; there’s always something going on in the health insurance and Medicare world, so you can use that to your advantage. But, remember, before you share a tweet on a news article or topic, make sure to do our own research first! Know what’s happening, get the facts right, and then contribute to the topic.
Visuals Are A Must
People are drawn to images and pictures, and the same goes for tweets with images: in fact, tweets with images receive 313% more engagement than those without! You can use a picture, image, or even a GIF, just make sure not to use low-quality or generic stock images, since most people are turned off by generic pictures and are more drawn to original images.
Social media is your best friend in growing your business. Twitter is one of those social media platforms that can promise you success, as long as you use it correctly. Before diving in and crafting your first tweet, consider the tips mentioned, so you can #succeed.
